Grok AI Deepfakes Trigger Global Crackdown as UK Data Regulator Launches Investigation

UK data regulator opens probe into X over sexual AI deepfakes

Grok came under fire for generating sexually explicit deepfakes of women and minors early last month. Britain's data regulator on Tuesday launched a probe into X and xAI to see whether Elon Musk's companies complied with personal data law when it came to AI chatbot Grok's generation of sexualised deepfakes. It marks a wider UK probe over Grok, which is facing international backlash for allowing users to create and share sexualised pictures of women and children using simple text prompts. "The reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions about how people's personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent, and whether the necessary safeguards were put in place to prevent this," William Malcolm, executive director, regulatory risk and innovation at the Information Commissioner's Office, said in a statement. "Losing control of personal data in this way can cause immediate and significant harm. This is particularly the case where children are involved". Last month, the UK's independent online safety watchdog, Ofcom, opened a formal investigation into X to determine whether it complied with its duties to protect people from content that is illegal. The chatbot, which can be accessed through Musk's social media platform X, came under fire last month as it allowed users to generate sexualised deepfakes of mostly women and minors. Governments around the world have condemned the platform and opened investigations into it. Last week, the European Commission opened an investigation into the social media platform to look at whether or not the social media platform did enough to mitigate the risk of the images being created and disseminated.

Probe launched into claims Elon Musk's AI engine used to generate sexual imagery of children

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office is to investigate reports Elon Musk's generative AI chatbot Grok has been used to generate sexual imagery of people including children. Grok was developed by Musk's xAI in 2023, designed to be a "truth-seeking" assistant with a witty, rebellious personality. Integrated into the X platform, it uses real-time data from X to generate text, images and code. A statement on the ICO website said: "The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has opened formal investigations into X Internet Unlimited Company (XIUC) and X.AI LLC (X.AI) covering their processing of personal data in relation to the Grok artificial intelligence system and its potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content. "We have taken this step following reports that Grok has been used to generate non‑consensual sexual imagery of individuals, including children. "The reported creation and circulation of such content raises serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public."

Governments worldwide crack down on Grok over sexualized AI content - explainer

Governments and regulators around the world are cracking down on sexually explicit content generated by Elon Musk's xAI chatbot Grok on X, launching probes, imposing bans, and demanding safeguards in a growing global push to curb illegal material. Here are some reactions from governments and regulators since the start of January: Europe The European Commission, on January 26, opened an investigation into whether Grok disseminates illegal content such as manipulated sexualised images in the EU. The probe will examine whether X properly assessed and mitigated risks as required under the bloc's digital rules. The Commission had on January 8, extended an order sent to X last year to retain and preserve all internal documents and data related to Grok until the end of 2026. Britain's media regulator Ofcom has launched an investigation into X to determine whether sexually intimate deepfakes produced by Grok violated its duty to protect people in the UK from content that could be illegal, under the country's Online Safety Act framework. Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit raided X's office in Paris on February 3 and ordered Musk to face questions in April regarding a widening investigation over alleged algorithmic bias, complicity in the detention and diffusion of images of child‑pornographic nature and the violation of a person's image rights with sexually explicit deepfakes. Germany's media minister said EU rules provided tools to tackle illegal content and alleged the problem risked turning into the "industrialisation of sexual harassment." Italy's data protection authority warned that using AI tools to create "undressed" deepfake imagery of real people without consent could amount to serious privacy violations and, in some cases, criminal offenses. Swedish political leaders have also condemned Grok-generated sexualised content after reporting that imagery involving Sweden's deputy prime minister was produced from a user prompt. Asia India's IT ministry sent X a formal notice on January 2 over alleged Grok-enabled creation or sharing of obscene sexualised images, directing the content to be taken down and requiring a report on the actions being taken within 72 hours. Japan also probed X over Grok, stating that the government would consider every possible option to prevent the generation of inappropriate images. Indonesia's communications and digital ministry said it had blocked access to Grok, a move digital minister Meutya Hafid said was meant to protect women and children from AI-generated fake pornographic content, citing Indonesia's strict anti‑pornography laws. Malaysia restored access to Grok for its users after X implemented additional safety measures, its communications regulator said on January 23. The Philippines will reinstate access to Grok after its developer pledged to remove image-manipulation tools that had sparked child-safety concerns, the country's cybercrime investigation unit said on January 21. Americas California's governor and attorney general said on January 14 they were demanding answers from xAI amid the spread of non-consensual sexual images on the platform. Canada's privacy watchdog said it was widening an existing investigation into X after reports that Grok was generating non-consensual, sexually explicit deepfakes. Brazil's government and federal prosecutors gave xAI 30 days to prevent the chatbot from spreading fake sexualised content, according to a joint statement on January 20. Oceania Australia's online-safety regulator eSafety said on January 7 it was investigating Grok-generated sexualised deepfake images, assessing adult material under its image‑based abuse scheme and noting current child-related examples it had reviewed did not meet the legal threshold for child sexual abuse material under Australian law. How has xAI responded? xAI said on January 14 it had restricted image editing for Grok AI users and blocked users, based on their location, from generating images of people in revealing clothing in "jurisdictions where it's illegal." It did not identify the countries. It had earlier limited the use of Grok's image generation and editing features only to paying subscribers. Why are French prosecutors investigating Elon Musk's X? French prosecutors said on Tuesday they were widening an investigation into Elon Musk's social media platform X and that they have summoned the tech billionaire for questioning in April. A probe into alleged abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction was launched in January 2025. That has now been expanded following complaints over X's AI chatbot Grok, they said. The Paris prosecutor said it is investigating a range of potential crimes, including complicity in the possession and organised distribution, offering or making available of pornographic images involving minors, as well as the defamation of a person's image through sexually explicit deepfakes. The probe also covers alleged denial of crimes against humanity, including Holocaust denial, the fraudulent extraction of data from an automated data processing system by an organised group, the falsification or manipulation of such systems by an organised group, and the operation of an illegal online platform by an organised group.